OpenAI Dots Explained: ChatGPT’s Always-On Agent Takes Aim at Grok Bot

OpenAI held its DevDay event in San Francisco on September 29, 2026, and made more than 20 announcements. The one that matters most for everyday ChatGPT users is dots: agents that stay switched on, learn how you work, and take tasks off your plate without waiting for you to type a prompt.

If that sounds familiar, it should. We covered almost the same idea when xAI launched Grok Bot for Windows, and Microsoft showed its own version, Autopilot, in the new Microsoft Copilot a few days earlier. Below is what a dot does, how it stacks up against Grok Bot, who can get one and how to set it up on a Windows PC.

Watch the DevDay Keynote

OpenAI’s full DevDay keynote introduces dots on stage, along with the new ChatGPT Space, Pages and the Pro 500 plan.

What Is a Dot?

A dot is an AI agent that lives inside ChatGPT. You give it a name and a character, tell it what matters to you, and it keeps working between your conversations. It can research in the background, run tasks on a schedule and message you when it needs a decision.

Each dot gets its own name and character. Image: OpenAI.

The difference from a normal chat is ownership. A chat answers the question in front of it and stops. A dot takes on an ongoing job, such as watching customer feedback or keeping a project plan up to date, and follows it through. OpenAI’s own example: an early tester’s dot noticed he had forgotten to invoice a client, prepared the invoice, and sent it once he approved.

A dot named Iggy spots a bug, fixes it and waits for a review before anything ships. Image: OpenAI.

What a Dot Can Do

OpenAI says dots run on GPT-6 Astra, its most capable model at launch. These are the four abilities that make a dot different from a regular ChatGPT chat.

You can reach your dot in ChatGPT on desktop, web and mobile, and in Slack and Microsoft Teams. It carries the same context across all of them, so a project started in ChatGPT can continue in a Teams thread. You can also start a voice call with it when typing is too slow. New to Teams? Start with our Microsoft Teams for Windows guide.

A dot named Felipe notices a product change and offers two updated slides to choose from. Image: OpenAI.

Dots vs Grok Bot

Put the two side by side and the resemblance is clear. Both give you a named agent with its own cloud computer, access to your apps and a pause for your approval on anything risky. The biggest gap is how many agents you get and how they work together.

One thing dots do better on paper is reach. A dot sits inside ChatGPT, an app many people already have open all day, while Grok Bot is a separate app you have to install and sign into. If you already live in ChatGPT, that matters more than any single feature.

Who Gets Dots and What It Costs

Dots started rolling out on September 29, 2026, and OpenAI says access can take several days to reach every account. Your first dot is included in your plan at no extra cost. OpenAI also changed its Pro plans at DevDay, so there are now three to choose from.

If you already pay for Pro 200, OpenAI says you keep your old usage allowance through October 29, 2026, as long as your subscription was active at OpenAI’s cutoff date or in the seven days before it. After that date it moves to the new, lower allowance at the same $200 price. Want the full plan picture first? See our ChatGPT for Windows guide.

How to Set Up Your Dot on Windows

You can only create a dot on a computer, not on your phone. OpenAI confirms the ChatGPT desktop app on Windows supports it, and so does ChatGPT in a desktop browser.

• 1Open the ChatGPT desktop app on your Windows PC, or go to chatgpt.com in a desktop browser.
• 2Follow the dot onboarding prompts once dots reach your account.
• 3Name your dot and pick a character, or let it make a pet for you.
• 4Connect the apps you want it to use, and check each app’s permissions first.
• 5Set up Slack or other channels from the desktop app if you want to message it there.
• 6Choose Allow access only if you want it on your PC. Skip this step and your dot stays in its own cloud computer.

After setup, you can talk to your dot from the ChatGPT mobile app. Its profile in the desktop app shows what it is working on under In progress, Scheduled and Completed.

Once set up on a PC, you can hand a dot work from your phone. Image: OpenAI.

Staying in Control of Your Dot

An agent that can send email and use your accounts needs limits. Dots start with built-in rules for when to act and when to ask, and Custom Rules let you set your own. For each kind of action, you can choose one of four behaviors: act without asking, act only if you asked for it in your message, ask first, or hand the task back to you.

Some things stay with you no matter what, such as changing a password. When a dot works in the background on its own, OpenAI says it only uses read-only tools, so it cannot send messages or change anything without you. You can also pause your dot from its profile, and resetting it deletes its conversations, memories and scheduled tasks.

Other DevDay News for Windows Users

Dots were the headline, but several other announcements touch the ChatGPT desktop app and the Microsoft tools many Windows users rely on.

Businesses should also watch one detail. OpenAI says it is working with Microsoft to bring “specialist dots”, agents set up by a company for one job such as invoice processing, into Microsoft Agent 365, so IT teams can manage them with Microsoft tools they already use. That work started as enterprise pilots.

OpenAI Dots FAQ

Sources and Official Links

More Windows software guides: ChatGPT for Windows · Grok Bot for Windows · Claude for Windows · Gemini for Windows · The New Microsoft Copilot